


Expectations

by Partycat



Category: Tintin - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, Other, Snapshots, Unhealthy Relationships, pre-The Crab with the Golden Claws
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2017-09-14
Packaged: 2018-12-29 22:58:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12095277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Partycat/pseuds/Partycat
Summary: Inspired by the fantastic yankee-sama drawings of Allan & Haddock in their Merchant Navy uniforms. Pre-Tintin series.Haddock reflecting on the legacy he carries & the future ahead of him after graduating from the Maritime Academy, before being rudely interrupted by another graduate. A snapshot into the uneasy relationship Allan & Haddock have always shared.





	Expectations

**Author's Note:**

> Sadly yankee-sama deleted their account but you can still view the art here (http://68.media.tumblr.com/2b1cd95d8284ef0a2022bc56dfb381f5/tumblr_nv6e5qcERt1ud79a6o2_500.jpg)
> 
> Please note; emotional manipulation/abuse is featured in this story, the Allan/Haddock is very light (/unhappy) and features nothing explicit. Lord knows I found this cathartic to write.  
> Any/all feedback is appreciated.

He took a deep breath of sea air in; this was exactly where he was meant to be. There was very little that made a Haddock – money, living arrangements, blood feuds all came and went between the different generations. It was the undeniable need to be at sea that made a Haddock; the brass buttons on a naval uniform were as coveted as any of the family gold and a navigational compass the sign of a young Haddock coming of age.

He absentmindedly touched one of the buttons on his jacket, tracing the anchor design stamped onto it, the feeling so familiar from when he would steal his father’s coat and could only imagine what it would be like to be a captain.

It was as he felt a soft, heavy bundle hit the back of his head that he wished he could have the respect of one already.

“Getting all soppy looking at your kingdom are we Haddock?” Allan strolled up beside him, cigarette dangling out his mouth and shirt sleeves rolled up, his coat in a puddle between them. Haddock bent down to pick the bundle up, brushing off the dirt and dust already clinging to it. It felt sacrilegious for him to see something so sacred to his family treated like rags.

“No, just...taking it all in I suppose” Haddock replied, lifting the coat up to Allan “You could treat it with a bit more care than that, alright?”

Allan scoffed at him, hooking the coat on his finger and throwing it across his shoulder. “Why? You wear them for one day, maybe two if you’re very lucky, may as well get some use out of them”

“ _Allan_ ” Haddock turned to give him a withering look “Even if you don’t wear it all the time, it’s still a uniform, it’s to be respected.”

A scowl crossed Allan’s face as he dropped his coat again and leant against the railings. Haddock had never met another man so petulant, anyone in authority soon learnt it was much better to leave Allan to his own devices then to attempt to correct him or to have the _audacity_ to scold him over his behaviour.

“Well, it was uncomfortable and I needed something to knock that daft look off your face” He snapped, stubbing out his cigarette far too hard on the railing and flicking it off into the water below.

Haddock glanced at Allan with the corner of his eye, choosing to stare across the dock again instead of saying anything else. A manic bustle had overtaken the place as it crept closer to midday; people flowing out from boats of all sizes spilling onto the docks, crowds weaving about the place with goods and the buzz of noise from all kinds of languages being spoken blended into the sounds of the machinery.

A sudden burst of movement drew his eyes to a scuffle breaking out near the warehouse over what appeared to be (from where they stood) a bag of mail, a fist colliding with a stomach before the last letter fluttered to the ground.

Allan nodded his head at said scuffle, nudging Haddock with his elbow.

“Shilling says the one in the green jumper wins” As he spoke, the man in question shoved someone to the ground, swinging round to clap another man over the head.

“Not interested” Haddock grunted, still staring into the crowds.

“My, we are taking this uniform business very seriously aren’t we?” Allan mocked as he turned around and leant back again on the railings, contemplating Haddock with a sneer “Will you be able to come down from your ivory tower for a few drinks at _The Anchor_ or is that too below you?”

“ _Listen here you_ ” Haddock hissed, letting go of the railings to point at Allan. Normally Haddock could take a snide remark, keep his head down and let it roll over him but today, Allan struck a chord. “I’m taking this so seriously because we’ve both finally made something of ourselves; months of hard work paying off by landing us stable, respectable jobs and a damn fine way to live. There are people down there who’d give everything they own to have even a chance to be in Merchant Navy, to have a roof over their heads, guaranteed hot meals everyday and the privilege of being able to see the world beyond the horizon. Since I was a young lad, I have dreamed of this day, to finally live up to the one expectation my family placed on me. Allan, it’s the chance for us to really start our lives properly and go forward as upstanding men, proud of what we do.”

He paused and turned away from Allan (who was wiping away some of the spittle on his cheek), looking back to where the man in the green jumper was patting the back of a man with a black eye, gesturing toward _The Anchor_.

“I don’t... I know how I get dragged down into these things” Haddock felt at a loss, this always happened; it was always Allan he spilled his guts to but he couldn’t stop “The smallest flutter or quickest drink could be all it takes for me to slip back down.”

Allan stared at Haddock, cold grey eyes locked onto him, making him feel pinned to where he stood. Allan finally broke eye contact with Haddock as he barked out a laugh and leaned forward to grab Haddocks wrist, tugging him closer until he could smell the distinct, almost sweet cigarettes that Allan smoked on his breath.

Haddock almost leapt out of his skin when he felt Allan rubbing his thumb in circles on his palm, he tried to pull his arm back but he was caught in a vice-like grip. He really tried.

“Archie” Allan smiled at Haddock, a wistful look on his face. Haddock knew what was coming; he only heard that name when he was being brought crashing down to earth. “has anyone ever told you how soft your hands are? I think it’s easily one of my favourite things about you. Because no matter how much you claim you slaved away like the rest of us or if you wear the same clothes as us, you’ll never understand what it means to be here”

Haddock felt like the words had cut deep into his skin, down to the bone; he wanted nothing more than to hit Allan round the head and scream at what a low-life he was for thinking so little of him. But Allan knew all too well what made him tick - instead he swallowed thickly, Allan now stroking the inside of his wrist, his pulse hammering against where his fingers brushed.

“While you sat in your cosy little classroom learning all the laws of the land or the layout of your ship, I was going numb from the cold while I stood watch in the middle of the night. My hands would be bleeding after I’d spent hours peeling off paint and barnacles from the hull, burning in the afternoon sun while you used your hands to scribble down notes and draw in the margins of your paper. Sure you did a year on board but unlike you, I didn’t have my father to make sure I went on a ship with a family friend who ensured I had more time studying navigational charts than pumping out the b-“

“You dirty rotten rat!” Haddock ripped Allan’s hand off his wrist and while he couldn’t say for certain, in that moment it felt like he’d gotten rid of a weight off his chest. “You... you scoundrel! You troglodyte! Rubbish, everything you’ve just said, absolute rubbish! Perhaps if you spent less time wrapped up in your own world and more time attempting to be a half decent creature, you’d know that what you’ve said is just how your bitter, vindictive little self has seen me since day one.”

There was an uncomfortable pause in the air – despite the noise of the docks, it felt eerie quiet on the deck. Allan was just staring at him, an unreadable emotion on his face, Haddock gripping the rail white-knuckled as he waited for him to move.

Then, as if Haddock hadn’t just chewed him out, Allan smiled and leant in right next to Haddocks ear, ignoring the way Haddock shivered under him.

“Isn’t it sad that you feel the need for all these high and mighty speeches, rambling about not slipping back into old habits and how much better you are then me. We both know what you’re afraid of giving into really.” he whispered, taking a small step back.

“Anyway, don’t worry” Allan started to walk off, picking up his jacket and pulling out his packet of cigarettes from his pocket “I’ll save a seat next for you in the pub, just in case you come round to your senses dear Archie.”

He turned round and shot Haddock a look before sauntering his way off the ship.

Haddock finally released his grip from the railing, his hand aching from how hard he’d been holding. He hadn’t moved since he first snapped at Allan. He felt raw and exposed, like he’d been standing on the deck of a ship during a storm, rain battering his face and exhausted from trying to avoid being thrown overboard. He forced himself to breath and focus on the railing, ignoring the feelings that Allan had churned up with his final statement, he wasn’t going to slip back down. Not this time; he had a life ahead of him without Allan, he didn't need to run after him. 

He gazed across the dock, his eye drawn to the punters outside of The Anchor, the familiar shape of Allan clear among the crowd. He was in the middle of a very animated conversation with the men who'd been in the fight earlier, the people round him drawn to what he was saying already. He willed his feet not to move, to stay and leave Allan well alone for once.

After what seemed like an age, Haddock sighed and slumped forward, catching his reflection in the water below. A sense of relief finally washed over him, the weight of endless months of a strained relationship and vile scrutiny from Allan were finally gone. He quietly thanked his father for passing on his temper to him for the first time in his life; it was hard to believe that giving Allan a taste of his own foul words and standing up to him was the greatest thing that would have happened to him today.

Perhaps it wasn't just the need to be out on the sea or the naval uniform that made a Haddock after all, but the bravery that ran through his veins instead.


End file.
